1. Field of the Invention PA1 2. Description of the Related Art
The present invention relates to grooming apparatus and, more specifically, to brushes.
Hair brushes abound in the present era. Even a cursory view of the relevant aisle of any large drug store indicates that hair care and, more particularly, hair brushes, play an increasingly important role in grooming. Furthermore, since at least the 1970s, there has been an increasing popularity in men's hair styling. Thus, hair care products for both women and men, including hair brushes, have become big sellers.
Even as the number and styles of brushes seem to increase without bounds, devices for cleaning brushes, including simply removing hair that accumulates in the bristles, are primitive. A review of the patent art illustrates the undeveloped state of the art, and, most likely, most people simply replace their brushes, rather than clean them with brush cleaning devices.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 2,564,721 to Raya shows a rake-like device that is run through the bristles. The technique is similar to the home grown method of cleaning the bristles of a brush with a comb. It is directed toward brushes with flexible groupings of bristles, and would not work on brushes with hard plastic bristles used in blow drier hair styling that is popular today. Furthermore, the user must pack or carry two items--the brush and the cleaning device. U.S. Pat. No. 1,546,548 to MacCune describes a brush holder that also includes brush cleaning teeth, which is also similar to using a comb to clean a brush. This does not even present the option of carrying the cleaning device along with the brush.
Another example of a device intended to clean brushes is U.S. Pat. No. 1,689,209 to Majewski, which shows a backing plate with a series of holes through which the bristles extend. The plate is normally adjacent the surface of the brush from which the bristles extend. When the brush is to be cleaned, the plate pivots over the bristles. The pivoting plate would not work well with brushes with flexible groupings of bristles because, once the holes passed over the ends of the bristles, they would spread out and be difficult to reinsert. Nor would the pivoting geometry work well with brushes having hard plastic bristles, because the bristles would need to bend as the plate pivoted. Once the hard plastic bristles were to pass through the holes of the plate, replacement of the plate to its original position would require bending the bristles into the holes.
It would be extremely beneficial to provide a brush with a cleaning feature that is incorporated within the brush itself, and that works well with many different styles of brushes.
In particular, it would be beneficial to provide a brush with a cleaning feature that is lifted through the rows of bristles for cleaning, instead of raked through the bristles.